Category Archives: Features

It’s the last blog tour for Buqo YA, and today, I am very glad to have Sue Donymko, author of A Moment Like This from Buqo YA 5: Perfect Moments bundle. :) Sue Donymko lives and works in Manila, Philippines. When she’s not writing or working, or working some more, she eats, watches a lot of television, sings — much to the neighbors’ dismay — and reads until she falls asleep. You can subscribe to her blog here and follow her on Twitter here.

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Hi Tina,

Thanks for featuring me on your blog and for the mini interview. I enjoyed answering all the questions. Take care!

2. What was the biggest challenge you had to face in writing your buqoYA story?

My biggest challenge was how to create a story that will capture that perfect moment that can establish something lasting or real between two individuals who only just met. I didn’t want it to be just one magical moment that would fizzle out once they were out of each other’s proximity.

3. Your characters enter the cafeteria – where would they sit?
Kris would either be in a separate table with one or two friends who are as chill and uncaring about popularity like she is. Noel, with his charm and looks, would definitely be with the cool but non-jock crowd.

4. Assuming you didn’t know the end of your story, what advice would you give your main character?
Wow, Tina, what a good question! Communicate. Take risks. You’ll never know until you try. :)

5. What song best describes your story?
Beginning of Something Wonderful by Orange and Lemons!

6. What can readers expect from you next?
I’m finishing a New Adult novella, and maybe a spy/crime novella later this year!

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Thanks, Sue! :) Her story, A Moment Like This, is part of the Buqo YA 5: Perfect Moments bundle, together with five other YA stories. You can get it (and the first four bundles!) here!

PERFECT MOMENTS

Sometimes you’ll meet your match: at detention, on the badminton court, in a resort hotel in Davao, at a lab, in a foster home, at an epic party. You’ll never know. But always keep your heart ready for that perfect moment. Read these stories and experience the bliss of first love.

A Moment Like This by Sue Donymko

Kris Mercado and Noel Abad are trapped in a posh resort hotel in Davao City during a particularly bad flood. After spending almost everyday together, they realize that they are undeniably attracted to each other. But reality bites as usual, and they now have to decide whether to chalk their romance up to forced circumstances or to explore what could be the sweetest love they’ve been looking for…

Anything You Want Me To by Audrine Pascal

Oh, Via. Such in a hurry to have a boyfriend. Now look who got dumped on social media, just before the epic party happening tonight.

So why is she hanging out with Franco Castañer? It’s all good – Via’s always been immune to all that yummy goodness, him being her best friend’s brother and all.

But is Franco actually being flirty? Or is she just reading too much into this? How exactly do you decode the species they call boy?

Vodka shot, anyone?

Something Real by Charm Jacinto

Hailey’s principle is heart over mind. It’s Rick or nothing at all. Brett’s scholarship comes first. His, was mind over matters of the heart. A laboratory experiment in Physics brought them together making their lives entangled with each other. From lab partners to having a crossfire of misread signals to friendship. Will they ever find the perfect formula when it comes to the principle of love?

Match Point Mishap by Madelyn Tuviera

“Shit happens to the best of us,” goes a saying, and Lester Torres, a now-starving student-artist, cannot agree more. The family business has reached a steady decline. His parents are distraught. His education is at the risk of being put on hold because tuition’s too expensive, impractical. Something they are no longer able to afford. Unwilling to give up, he tries to apply for an athletic scholarship in the hope of keeping the dream alive. He was in the high school badminton varsity team, after all. Might as well put his dormant skill to good use, right? He aces the first few matches, winning them in a breeze, and thinks that he’s got this scholarship in the bag already. Easy as pie.

Enter a talented player by the name of Wency David, and Lester lands the first missed service of his game.

Someone to Care by Jessica Larsen

After her parents die in an accident, Jennelle is passed around by her relatives. Hindi siya tumatagal ng isang taon sa piling ng mga kamag-anak bago siya itulak ng mga ito patungo sa iba. At fifteen, nalibot na yata niya lahat ng isla sa Pilipinas. Not that she cares, because she has learned from the moment she loses her parents that not getting too involved with anyone will keep her from getting hurt. Subalit nagbago ang lahat ng iyon nang makilala niya si Valentine, ang adopted son ng distant relative niya kung saan siya sunod na titira. Like her, Valentine has been orphaned at a young age, but unlike her, Valentine loves to keep everyone close—except her. And as if sharing a home wasn’t enough of a torture, they would also be attending the same school.

The Offside by KZ Riman

All I wanted was to move on to sophomore year. And, of course, to have Soccer God Mattheus Estevez back into my life, despite my brother’s incessant demands that I stopped dating jocks. What I didn’t count on, though, was to go through detention work with Geovanne Estevez, Mattheus’ identical twin brother, just so I’d realize both. And what I found baffling about it all was how Geovanne seemed to be putting a lot more effort into it than we had all bargained for, making this detention the best one yet.

So let me take a step back here. This is the fourth blog tour for this, and there are 5 bundles, and in each bundle, there are 6 stories. That’s 30 new YA romances by Filipino authors, friends. That’s a lot. Now when will I have time to read them all is another thing, so now instead of blabbing about that, let me welcome one of the authors in the 4th Buqo YA bundle over to the blog. Here’s Fay Sebastian, author of Waiting for Whatever, talking about her writing playlist. :)

Hello! I’m so excited to share my playlist while writing my #buqoYA story, Waiting for Whatever. Waiting for Whatever is about Denise, who was waiting for true love since the time when she first experienced heartbreak. Denise soon learns that she already met her true love, but is surprised to find out that he’s actually someone who broke her heart before.

THE SONGS AND WHEN TO LISTEN TO ‘EM

Waiting for Whatever has three POV’s: Denise’s, Seth’s and Robin’s. However, the POVs don’t follow a specific order (e.g. Denise-Seth-Robin) and they were arranged in a way that I felt most appropriate for the story.

While writing this story, I needed all the feels that I can get. So I added a song even if I used it to get feels for just one paragraph.

Someday by Nina

Denise’s song for every guy who broke her heart. [Listen to this every time there’s a heartbreak]

It Might Be You by Stephen Bishop

Denise’s theme song for Seth. You know, before he broke her heart and when things are still okay. [Listen to this every time you find yourself rooting for Seth and Denise]

We all want the happy ending, the dream come true. But what if it doesn’t happen? How far would you go to get that “ever after?” Would you change who you are? Would you swallow your pride? Is the story really going to be as perfect as you think? Follow the path of these characters and see where they lead.

Stories in the bundle:

Fall for Grace by Anne Plaza

Just the Way You Are by Kat Sales

Love In the Time of Viral Videos by R. Linea

The Path of Us by Cassandra Javier

The First Time They Met by Ana Valenzuela

When Cocoy Became Kikay by C.P. Santi

It’s another blog tour week for #buqoYA! Can I tell you something not-so-secret? I really like the title of this bundle. It must be the fairy tale fan in me, or the romantic, because whenever someone says “fairy tales,” I think of happily ever afters. And those are really fun to read, yes?

So for this stop, I shall share two excerpts from the stories in this bundle. I have a copy of this bundle waiting in my phone, and from the excerpts, I cannot wait to settle down and read them. :) Enjoy!

The Path of Us by Cassandra Javier

“I’m sorry, okay? But Clara, you’ll do great. You’ll do amazing things because that’s who you are. You’ll manage out there because this is what you’ve always wanted, right?”

He went on, “And you know what’s even better?”

She looked at him and waited for what he had to say next.

“You’ll finally be able to get away with Pink or Purple streaks on your hair or whatever.”

She found herself laughing despite of herself. “Without you ratting me out?”

It depends.” He quipped, smiling. “I might see you in college.”

“Oh god no.”

They laughed. “See? You look so much better when you smile.”

“I still hate you.”

He laughed. “If you say so.”

She didn’t know what came to her mind right at that moment but she found herself inching towards him. In a span of seconds, she was planting a kiss on his lips. It didn’t last long—just a few seconds or so, and she wanted to bask in that moment, feel the butterflies in her stomach, the warmth of the air, the romance that the light of the fireflies gave, but she remembered that a) she had a boyfriend, and b) she hated Andrew—this shouldn’t be happening.

“Clara—“

“I’m sorry.” She said. “I shouldn’t have—“

“No.”

Please.” She said with finality. “I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.”

She then ran away, leaving him and High School behind.

About the author: Cassandra Javier
Cass is a cat lady who graduated with a degree in Broadcasting and has worked as a copywriter, a researcher in an IT company, a call center agent and was even a trainee for a time in a television network. She writes articles for a living. When not writing articles, she writes novels, fanfiction, short stories and whatever she may think of. She loves TV series, movies, music, and is a very big bookworm. She’s also addicted to butterflies, faeries and Ice Cream.

When Cocoy Became Kikay by C.P. Santi

“Since when did you start having a lablab, Coy?” Dags lifted a brow.

So much for keeping secrets. “So I like someone. Big deal.”

“Is . . . is it a guy or a girl?” Paulo asked tentatively.

I turned incredulous eyes toward him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Dude, whichever way you roll . . .” Dags shrugged.

Oh, c’mon. True, I was a T-shirt-and-jeans kind of girl and I hung out with guys, but that didn’t automatically translate to such gender assumptions. Sure, I loathed boy bands. And I loved basketball, camping, and shooting more than the average girl should. Living with my dad hadn’t exactly encouraged girly pursuits. But still.

I sighed. “Dude, if I were gay, I’d tell you. But I’m not.”

“So, who is it? You have to tell us,” Paulo protested. He stood to tower over me, arms crossed over his chest.

“Aw, Coy, aren’t we friends?” Dags cajoled as he strummed the first notes of “Maalaala Mo Kaya.”

I sighed. Paulo, Dags, Joel, and I had been friends for years. The four of us were the only ones crazy enough to take up a dare issued by our neighborhood playmates—to see if a manananggal indeed left the lower part of its body at the abandoned Siangco house on Lilac Street.

Over the years, our friendship had been further cemented by bruises and scraped knees, basketball games, camping trips, fish balls, turon, and buko pandan royale, day-long village-hopping bicycle trips, and innumerable fries and Coke floats.

C.P. Santi is a Filipina author based in Tokyo, Japan. She is a wife to an engineer/musician/jokester and a full-time mom to two energetic boys. She loves cooking and baking, and enjoys feeding people, gorging on chocolate, watching J-doramas, belting it out in the karaoke box, and running around the house playing tickle tag. She also loves dreaming up stories about the people she meets.

In another life, she is also an architect and academic.

Her first book, Be Careful What You Wish For, is a contemporary romance based in Tokyo.

Like this:

Buzzer beater in today’s tour stop because work and life are in the way of the reading and blogging life (as always). But today, before the day ends, I’ll be reviewing one of the stories in the second Buqo YA bundle!

Nate and Tanya have been “talk all day, every day” best friends for years but on the eve of Nate’s birthday, Tanya realized she has started developing more-than-platonic feelings him. They’re going off to college soon so confessing anything that might make things complicated between them doesn’t sound like a good plan, especially now that Campus Sweetie Armi has entered the picture. What would Tanya do? Could she? Should she? Grab a sticky note and place your bets.

I’ve been seeing this story in the #buqoYA twitter feed during the time the stories were being written, and I thought this was such a cute title. I love sticky notes, too, and I was really curious on how this item would fit in the Nate and Tanya’s love story.

This is a short, short story, but despite its length, I was really convinced that Nate and Tanya were truly best friends, with the way they knew each other and the history they had together. I think that is the most challenging about writing friends-turned-lovers stories – building on their history and making the readers believe that they are meant to be even from the start (except writing that trope for YA is a bit easier because the characters are younger). I liked their back story, which was simple, and how Tanya truly loved Nate as her best friend and not just a guy she liked.

Once Upon a Sticky Note had both the sweet and the complications, as this bundle is all about. Don’t worry, the ending is more sweet than complicated. :P My only wish for this story is that it was a little bit longer, if only to flesh out their characters and their stories more. Nevertheless, this is a very sweet and cute YA story that you should not miss. :)

Rating:★★★★★

Excerpt:

Of course it also doesn’t hurt that he is nice to look at. I have always pegged Nate as a pretty boy, but his unassuming ways make him look more attractive. I like his thick eyebrows, his smiling eyes, and the dimple on his left cheek that mirrors mine. I can’t even tell you how many jealous stares I have fielded when we walk through the school together, or how my heart secretly swells seeing these.

It’s quite melodramatic to say that our lives have never been the same since we became closer because we are still very young, but that fact doesn’t make it any less true. I will feel so lost when the time comes he or I would have to go our separate ways. Graduation is coming soon and to be honest, I’m dreading college. I wonder if we will be as close as we are now or whether I will be left behind, a mere footnote to carefree high school days.

It was almost morning when I realized I am in love with my best friend.

About the author:

It boggles the mind how someone so shy and awkward found herself in Public Relations, but somehow Krissy makes it work. If she were a fictional character, she’d be a female Ted Mosby. Whether it be prose, poetry, a watercolor painting, or a craft project, she is happiest when she makes. Talk about books, movies, and lipsticks with her on www.krissyfied.com

Whether looking for closure, proving their worth, or wondering what happens after a moonlit night, the characters from these stories will invite you to take a chance for love. Will they find what they’re looking for? Or will their hearts get broken? Step into their shoes and find out.

A little history: I was supposed to be a part of this (or any of the other bundles in the Buqo YA books), but I sucked at time management back when the class was ongoing and I totally wasn’t able to focus and write. I did get a new job by then, plus it was Papal Visit week. Granted, I was two chapters away from finishing my story by the last day of the class, but I realized that I didn’t want to turn what I had in because it was far from publishable form, and I had zero time to edit after the class ended because life, and work.

So I let my story rest (and it’s still resting). But that doesn’t mean I don’t get to support my fellow authors, right?

So, Taking Chances is the first Buqo YA bundle. Each bundle contains six stories, and the stories in this book are all about what the title says: taking chances. The stories are short and sweet, because they’re all romance, and they’re all set in the Philippines, so yay, because we can never have enough of Filipino YA novels/short stories, right?

Of all the stories in this bundle, three are my favorite: Justine Camacho-Tajonera’s A Portrait of Jade, Six de los Reyes’ After the Moment, and Jen Suguitan’s Never Too Late.A Portrait of Jade is about Jade who goes to an art camp in Baguio to escape being under her sister’s shadow. She meets Alex, a snotty art boy who criticizes her work, and they get paired up with their final project for the camp. I liked the whole concept of the camp, and how the two worked on the projects. It was really sweet and interesting, and Jade’s growth at the end was a pleasure to read.

After the Moment – thinking about this story makes me want to giggle and sigh incoherently. There’s something about the characters and how the story was written that makes it so engrossing. I rooted for Aria from the start, and I was immediately in her head. Her banter with Kris was so real that I kept on smiling all throughout. This is my favorite in this bundle, and I’m really, really glad that there will be a continuation for this. :)

The bundle ends with Never Too Late, which was about Cass who goes on a trip to Corregidor and ends up being in the wrong tour group because of her tardiness. Cass is struggling to deal with the death of her older sister, Sam, and she was terribly at odds with her other sister, Anj. Then she meets Noah from the tour group, who accompanies her through the trip, where Cass learns an important lesson on beginning again. I like how this didn’t deal too much with the romance, but also with Cass’ grief and her family. Noah felt like the icing to the cake here, but not in a bad way – because why eat cake without icing, right? This story made me want to go to Corregidor soon. :)

If all the stories in the other Buqo YA bundles are as enjoyable as this, then I am so excited to read the rest. :) You can get this book (and the other Buqo YA bundles) from Buqo YA 1 for only Php 45. Totally worth it. :)